Plate-type heat exchangers comprising a plurality of stacked heat exchanger plates are known for a variety of purposes, including heat exchange between oil and a heat exchange fluid. A known way of mounting a stacked plate heat exchanger is to mount a planar, stamped base plate at one end of the stack, for example, the bottom end. The base plate can be brazed to the heat exchanger with or without the use of a shim plate. In order to incorporate the heat exchanger into an automobile heat exchanger system, for example, the heat exchanger with base plate is then, typically, mounted to a cast or moulded adapter structure which in turn is mounted to the transmission or engine housing, for example, using additional fluid lines and/or connectors. The cast or moulded adapter structure includes mounting holes, fluid transfer channels, fluid fittings, filters, etc. to allow the heat exchanger to be incorporated into the overall heat exchange system. In some instances the cast or moulded adapter structure is made of plastic and in other instances it is a more heavy-duty casting that can be quite complex in structure and costly. In both instances, the adapter structure contributes to the overall height and weight of the heat exchanger component as well as to the overall manufacturing costs.
In the field of automotive heat exchanger manufacture, weight limitations as well as space limitations are becoming increasingly restrictive. Accordingly, efforts are constantly being made to reduce component weight as well as component height and/or size. Efforts are also being made to reduce the complexity and increase the adaptability and/or flexibility of components to facilitate assembly and mounting of the component within the overall system and in an effort to reduce overall manufacturing and/or assembly costs. For instance, reducing the overall number of components or component interfaces that result from mounting or integrating a component within an overall system reduces the number of potential leakage points thereby reducing testing requirements as well as assembly steps. Reducing the complexity of components and reducing the number of more complex fluid connections between components also serves to reduce costs and is, therefore, desirable.
In automobile heat exchange systems, one manner of accommodating or adjusting to space limitations is to consider mounting heat exchangers directly to a related automotive system component without the use of an intervening adapter or mounting structure. For instance, it is not uncommon for an engine oil cooler (EOC) to be mounted directly to the exterior of the automobile engine housing. An example of an EOC mounted directly to the exterior of the engine housing is shown in JP2011149015.
The structure of the engine housing is, generally, somewhat conducive to mounting a heat exchanger directly to the exterior of the engine housing. The area of the cylinder head generally provides a flat, machined recess to which the heat exchanger can be bolted while having direct access to the oil inlet and return passages. However, by bolting the heat exchanger to the cylinder head in this area the heat exchanger must bridge or span the machined recess and must therefore be relatively stiff to minimize deflections from the relatively high cyclic pressure loads of the oil system inherent to the engine, which tend to be amplified depending upon the exact distance bridged by the heat exchanger. Accordingly, specific structural requirements need to be addressed when mounting a heat exchanger directly to the engine housing, while still keeping overall height and space limitations in mind.
While directly mounting heat exchangers to the exterior of the engine housing requires that a certain degree of structural rigidity be met, the structure of the housings of other automobile system components also present challenges related to the direct mounting of heat exchangers to the component housing. For instance, in the case of transmission housings, the housings are generally curved and are much larger in size which makes it difficult to provide a wide, generally flat area/recess for mounting a heat exchanger without intruding vertically into the internal parts of the transmission. Furthermore, transmission oil supply feed lines and/or oil ports are generally spaced farther away from each other and outside the footprint area of conventional heat exchangers used for this purpose. As well, the exact location/position of the oil ports is often variable. These factors contribute to difficulties associated with direct mounting a heat exchanger, such as a transmission oil cooler (TOC), to the exterior of the transmission housing.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heat exchanger with an improved mounting arrangement which allows for the direct mounting of the heat exchanger to the housing of an automobile system component.